Various car washing systems have heretofore been devised and constructed so that the owner of a vehicle may easily wash such vehicle. One such car wash system comprises driving a vehicle to the entrance of a car wash and aligning the wheels of the vehicle with two sets of tracks each having a pair of spaced rails. The transmission of the vehicle is placed in neutral and a dolly secured to a drive chain is moved into position so as to engage the rear portion of a tire or a wheel of the vehicle. The dolly includes rollers which are supported for rotation along the track as the chain conveyer is pulled so as to move the wheel of the vehicle forward along the path of the track.
A number of dollys have heretofore been devised. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,194,449 relates to a double dolly comprising a first roller which rotates about a first axle, a rotatable safety bar located in advance of and below the lower reach of the first roller and a frame for securing the rollers, axles and safety bars to a conveyer.
Moreover, U.S. Pat. No. 3,455,250 discloses a rotatable roller.
Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 3,568,606 discloses a conveyer for urging an automobile along a path of movement which includes a train driven roller arrangement which has a freely rotatable idler roller in pushing contact with the automobile wheel and thus permits unimpeded rotation of the automobile wheel during movement of the automobile along the path of movement.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,596,605 relates to a conveyer mechanism for moving a car through an automatic car wash comprising a plurality of space driven unit assemblies fastened to a drive chain.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 3,260,219 discloses a conveyer structure used in an automobile car wash.
Such dolly structures are relatively complicated and tend to wear out after a relatively short period of time.
It is an object of this invention to provide for an improve dolly having improved wear characteristics. More particularly, it is an object of this invention to provide for a dolly having a pusher structure adapted to push the wheel of a vehicle whereby said pusher structure has fewer wear or fatigue points than disclosed in the prior art.
A dolly for use on a car wash chain conveyor for contacting a wheel of a vehicle and moving said vehicle over a pair of spaced rails comprising: a shaft having two threaded ends; connecting means having a hole therethrough for axially receiving said shaft, said connecting means including link means for linking said connecting means to said chain conveyor, said link means adapted to extend between said rails for connection to said chain conveyor; pusher means having a pair of spaced side walls connected to a cylindrical surface, said cylindrical surface having an opening for receiving a portion of said connecting means having said hole therethrough, said pusher means including aperture means in said side walls aligned with said hole of said connecting means for axially receiving said shaft therethrough; sleeve means disposed within said opening of said pusher means between said side walls and said connecting means, said sleeve means adapted to receive said shaft means; roller means disposed at said ends of said shaft for rotation about said shaft, said roller means, adapted to engage said rails, said roller means including bore means extending therethrough and presenting shoulder means; bushing means disposed interiorially of said bore means of said roller means, said bushing means adapted to receive said shaft means for relative rotation therebetween; first washer means disposed between said side walls and said bushing means said first washer means adapted to receive said shaft means for relative rotation there between; second washer means disposed within said bore means for contact with said shoulder means said second washer means adapted to receive said shaft means for relative rotation therebetween; locking means threadedly engageable with said threaded ends of said shaft for securing said first washer means, bushing means, second washer means, side walls, sleeve means and said connecting means together, for securing said roller means for rotation about said shaft; said connecting means including a bearing surface for contacting said pusher means when said pusher means pushes said wheel of said vehicle so as to prevent rotation of said pusher means as said chain conveyor pulls said connecting means.
Another aspect of this invention relates to a dolly for use on a chain conveyer in moving an object over a pair of spaced rails comprising: a shaft having two ends, a connector releasably secured to said shaft and adapted to extend between said spaced rails for connection to said chain conveyer; rollers removably secured to said ends of said shaft for rotation about said shaft, said rollers adapted to engage said rails; and pusher structure removably fixedly secured to said shaft and said connector said connecting means, including a bearing surface for contacting said pusher means when said pusher means pushes said object so as to prevent rotation of said pusher means as said chain conveyor pulls said connecting means.
It is another aspect of this invention to provide for a dolly for use on a car wash chain conveyer for contacting the wheel of a vehicle and moving said vehicle over a pair of spaced rails, comprising: a shaft having two threaded ends; a connector having a hole therethrough for axially receiving said shaft, said connector including link structure for linking said connector to said chain conveyer; said link structure adapted to extend between said rails for connection to said chain conveyer; pusher structure having an opening for receiving a portion of said connector having said hole therethrough, said pusher structure including aperture means aligned with said hole of said connector for axially receiving said shaft therethrough, rollers disposed at said ends of said shaft for rotation about said shaft, said rollers adapted to engage said rails; locking structure threadedly engagable with said threaded ends of said shaft for securing said rollers for rotation about said shaft and for securing said pusher structure and said connector to said shaft said connector including a bearing surface adjacent said opening for contacting said pusher when said pusher pushes said wheel of said vehicle so as to prevent rotation of said pusher as said chain conveyor pulls said connector.